Blocked punt turns tide as Cummings overcomes Jets

Zachary Horner / Times-News correspondent

Saturday

Oct 27, 2012 at 12:01 AMOct 27, 2012 at 1:43 AM

Cummings High School senior linebacker Tre’ Moore wanted to make his last game count.

His block of a Jordan-Matthews punt, and sophomore receiver Quae Pinnix’s touchdown return of it was the first of three straight Cavaliers scores in the second half as Cummings beat the Jets 42-35 in the final game of the Mid-State 2-A Conference regular season.

“I told Tre’ Moore to line up on the outside over here and I told him, ‘Go get it. Go block it,’ ” said Cummings coach Steve Johnson. “He believed in me and went and blocked it and it changed the whole momentum of the game, and at that point I think our team really started to feel like they could get the win.”

Pinnix had a solid outing, grabbing four catches for 51 yards and a touchdown as well as recovering a fumble with 30 seconds left in the third quarter that eventually led to sophomore quarterback Tevin Smith’s 4-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Dedric Bowman to put Cummings up 35-28 with 10:39 left in the fourth quarter.

Smith, playing in place of injured senior starter Keith McAdoo, was 11-for-22 for 223 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed 12 times for 41 yards.

“We felt like we had enough confidence in Tevin to do it,” Johnson said. “And Tevin does give us something at the quarterback (position), he’s a dual-threat quarterback.”

Two of Smith’s touchdown passes were to sophomore receiver Jeremy Griffis, who also had a night he could brag about.

Griffis had three catches for 95 yards and returned an interception of Jordan-Matthews sophomore quarterback Josh Hudson 32 yards for a score with eight seconds left in the first quarter.

“Defensively, that’s the thing, we want to make plays in the secondary,” Griffis said. “Offensively, Tevin stepped up and played a great game. And the offensive line, that’s where it all starts, and the receivers with the combination of the routes, we all worked together well.”

The all-around play of the Cummings offense and special teams overcame a banner night by Jordan-Matthews junior running Hunter Causey, who ran 39 times for 272 yards and three touchdowns.

“He’s obviously an outstanding player and he’s been our workhorse all year like that and everybody knows that he’s going to get it and he still does what he does,” said Jordan-Matthews coach Marty Scotten. “He’s just a terrific high school running back, there’s no doubt about it.”

But Jets turnovers killed them. Griffis’ interception was one of three Jordan-Matthews giveaways on the night. Senior running back Timothy Chalmers’ fumble was the one Pinnix recovered that led to a touchdown, and Hudson lost a ball on the Jets’ own 39-yard line with 2:39 left and the Cavaliers holding to a 35-28 lead.

“I thought (Cummings) played better than we did in the second half,” Scotten said. “The blocked punt hurt, but then I thought the fumble really took our momentum away and they were able to score. They just made too many big plays on us in the second half.”

The Cavaliers had dropped a ball of their own on the Jordan-Matthews 1-yard line. Junior running back Vernon Williams was tackled and lost the ball reaching for the score. Jordan-Matthews sophomore defensive back Tre’ Jones recovered. The Jets were driving in an attempt to tie the game before Hudson dropped the ball trying to roll out.

Smith found Griffis on a 25-yard touchdown pass 1:46 later to put Cummings up 42-28 with 55 seconds left.

The Jets drove 68 yards in the next 37 seconds, capping the rally attempt with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Hudson to senior tight end Derek Hamilton to make the score 42-35. Hudson finished 6-for-13 for 105 yards and two scores, the other to senior receiver Nigel White.

But the attempted onside kick was recovered by the Cavaliers.

The game had eight lead changes, something Griffis said helps the Cavaliers in preparation for the playoffs.

“I think it gives us some momentum going in,” he said. “We’re believing now. I don’t think at the beginning of the season we could win tight games like this. And we proved that we could (this game). It’s just another step toward a goal to try and win a state championship.”

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